Although I’ve been to Iceland 4 years ago, as I only did Reykjavik and the golden circle tour, I have always dreamt of going back to see more of what the country has to offer!

A group of seven of us hired two cars and did an epic road trip around Iceland over the May bank holiday.

Day 1: Reykjavik arrival

We flew into Reykjavik and got in at 11:30pm, however the sun was only just setting. The beauty of going to Iceland in summer is their long light filled days. We headed to Reykjavik by transfer and had a few hours sleep at Rey Apartments in Reykjavik centre.

Day 2: Akureyri – Mytavn Lake area

We were up early to head to the domestic airport in Reykjavik to fly to Akureyri. It was a short 40 minute flight with stunning views of Iceland from above.

We picked up our hire cars here, had a quick coffee break and then made our way to our first stop.

We stopped by numerous spots including Godafoss, Skútustaðagígar pseudo craters, Hverfjall crater where hiked a short way to the top and also went to the Hverir geothermal area.

We stopped by Vogafjós Farm House for lunch. We shared the baked brie and had the lamb shank which were both really delicious!

We relaxed at Mytavn Nature Baths for a couple of hours. There were two main pools with different temperatures and one small one which was the hottest. There was also a sauna that we used. It was a great way to relax!

We had dinner at Café Sumarlina which was close by to our accommodation. We stayed at Guesthouse Elinar Helgu which was very cosy with great service.

Day 3: Hofn – Jokulsarlon

We were provided an amazing Icelandic breakfast at the guesthouse and were definitely more energised than yesterday after a good night’s sleep.

We drove in the rain but through some amazing scenery and hugged the coastline.

Our first stop was for lunch, where we went to Pakkhús in Höfn. I had the langoustine soup which was delicious plus bread and chips.

We then headed to the diamond black beach where there were pieces of ice that have washed up onto the sand from the icebergs/glaciers. It was very cool to see.

Our glacier tour was booked with Zodiac. This was definitely a highlight of the trip as we could go all the way to the glacier by speedboat and I have never seen anything like that in my life which made it feel more special.

Afterwards, with limited food options in the area, we went to Veitingasala Restaurant for dinner and had a cheeseburger with fries. After, we drove to Foss Hotel where we stayed and had some drinks and played drinking games. It was good fun!

Day 4: Vik

We had another rainy but foggy day! We stopped a few times to see some waterfalls and then headed to Vík. The church is meant to have some great views over the city, however we could not see anything as there was very low visibility.

We went to the Lava Cafe and had a hot chocolate then headed to Reynisfjara. There is incredible scenery there and it was foggy so added to the eerie atmosphere.

We then walked around 40 minutes to get to the Sólheimasandur Plane Crash site on the beach. It was cool to see an abandoned plane!

For dinner, we went to Restaurant Strönd. We had the fermented shark and their Icelandic shot. Having the fermented shark was an experience itself and one I wouldn’t try again! You have the small piece then take the shot.

Day 5: Golden Circle to Reykjavik

We drove to Selfoss and had breakfast at Kaffi Selfoss. There were the amazing turkey rolls again so we had to take them to go.

We stopped by Kerid craters which were pretty incredible to see. We then went to Gullfoss and the geysirs which I have seen before when I did the Golden Circle tour back in 2014.

We stopped by Lindin Restaurant for lunch which had amazing views of the lake and I had a glass of wine and the char which was freshly caught in the morning.

Afterwards, we headed to Pingvellir and only briefly stopped here to see the waterfall.

We drove back to Reykjavik and checked into Rey Apartments again and went to explore the city. We went up to the top of Hallgrimskirkja for the incredible views over the city and then went to Kaffi Barin for a beer before heading to Rok for dinner. It has tapas style Icelandic dishes so it was amazing to share everything from langoustine, salmon, mussels, beef to lamb. We topped it off with some dessert and wine.

We then headed to a few different bars and then called it a night!

Day 6: Reykjavik – Blue Lagoon

On our last day in Iceland, we were able to have a little lie in before grabbing pastries for breakfast. I highly recommend getting the parma ham bagel and pistachio scrolls at Sandholt Bakery and go to Brauð & Co for their cinnamon scrolls!

We headed to the Blue Lagoon to relax before our flight. Unfortunately it was super windy which made the water really choppy. We still enjoyed chilling in the water, having our complimentary drink at the bar and putting on our face masks.

We had our final lunch at the Lava Restaurant located at the Blue Lagoon. I had the arctic char and the lamb which were both delicious!

This trip was amazing, not only due to the amazing sights we had seen but because of the great bunch of people I got to travel with! Iceland is a magical place and I would love to be back at some stage again to see the things I didn’t get to see this time round!